The one thing I have to 'drill into Newbies' is SLOW DOWN, DON'T FORCE THE ROD/CAST. Light fingers on the cork and let that long lever do its thing.
:>)

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VERY LITE GRIP INDEED!!! And power the forward stroke with yer bottom hand..And not apply to much power at the beginning of the forward stroke..(slowly accelerate to a sudden stop)--MIGHT TAKE YOU AWHILE TO GET THE HANG OF THAT..
Anchor placement is critical with any speyrod-any cast..If the anchor tis not where you want it or where you think it should be--then forgo the cast..Roll or switch cast the line back down river and start again.

Over the years I have drilled 3 hooks into me carcass--twice bad anchor placement was the cause.

Danimal brings up a very good point, anchor placement is 'everything.' Until you really get 'good' at spey casting your aiming point for the forward stroke should be right over the connection of the end of your fly line/beginning of the leader. With that in mind, if you blow a cast set up there is THE PERRY POKE!!

Ta-Da! Greatest recovery cast going. Cast was originally used (still is) for casting heavy tips. But if you blow one IMMEDIATELY PULL BACK and go into the 'Poke.' You'll 'recover' 9 our of 10 busted casts.

I 'agree to disagree' with one aspect of this film. IF your intent is to execute the Poke from the get-go, good enough. IF you're doing one as a recovery cast the line set up goes line over the top of line as shown in the first vid-clip.

I wanted to say thanks a lot to Danimal and Fred. I went back out today and my casting was much improved. Light grip, proper anchor placement, don't rush and using my bottom hand for the forward stroke. Once all those things clicked it was effortless. Thanks again, between the two of you and a few youtube videos, I'm not overwhelmed with it anymore.

Good answer! Just remember: Slow down, keep your grip on the cork light, and cast right over the connection between line and leader. Last thing I need to mention is the beginning of the cast: The Lift. Can't believe I'd forgotten to comment on that.

All spey casts can be broken down into three seperate parts. 1) The lift ... which is just to get as much line out of the water as you can; 2) the Anchor placement and the formation of what ever cast you're going to do through the D loop; 3) and finally the forward stroke/high 'stop' with the rod tip.

On number '3' what's damned important is as you move the rod forward keep the rod canted out (off verticle) 5 to 10 degrees until the butt is past your nose. Two reasons for this: first is safty .... you come through pointed straight up you just aimed that fly right at the back of your head! Secondly this will keep the fly from catching the line as it goes out.